Universal tool for holding the eyes of leaf springs

ABSTRACT

The jig-like tool has a horizontal rectangular base plate of substantial area which is fixed in use on top of which plate parallel, laterally spaced side guide way and top restraining elements are fixedly mounted. A rectangular slide plate rests atop the base plate, being laterally and vertically restrained by said way and guide elements, and thus confined with reasonable side and top space clearance for longitudinal sliding movement on the base plate. Elongated and laterally spaced, block-like wear and guide plate units are fixedly mounted on the slide plate, with inner surfaces of their respective wear and guide parts converging angularly for a wedging engagement of a leaf spring eye between upright guide surfaces of the units, the eye being supported on their horizontal wear surfaces. The wear and guide blocks are fixedly mounted to the top of the slide plate by a series of upright studs; and end stops on the fixed base plate and guide-way sub-assembly prevent separation therefrom of the slide,wear and guide plate sub-assembly.

Warezak UNIVERSAL TOOL FOR HOLDING THE EYES OF LEAF SPRINGS Inventor: Ronald J. Warezak, 304 Annison,

Union Lake, Mich.

Filed: March 8, 1971 Appl. No.: 121,811

1 March 6, 1973 5 7] ABSTRACT The jig-like tool has a horizontal rectangular base plate of substantial area which is fixed in use on top of which plate parallel, laterally spaced side guide way and top restraining elements are fixedly mounted. A rectangular slide plate rests atop the base plate, being laterally and vertically restrained by said way and guide elements, and thus confined with reasonable 52 US. 01. ..29/200 P 29/230 Side and top Space clearance mgfludinal Sliding 51 1111. C1; ..B23p 19/00 1325 19/04 mvemem ml the base Plateand laterally 58 Field of Search ..29/200 J, 200 1 230 256 spaced wear and guide Plate units are 29/257; 6 edly mounted on the slide plate, with inner surfaces of their respective wear and guide parts converging angu- 5 References Cited larly for a wedging engagement of a leaf spring eye between upright guide surfaces of the units, the eye UNITED STATES PATENTS being supported on their horizontal wear surfaces. The l 469 5,192 Erickson 29/256 wear and guide blocks are fixedly mounted to the top 1:716:718 6/1929 xz: "5 of the slide plate by a series of upright studs; and end 1,881,050 10/1932 Grant ..29/230 Stops on the fixed base Plate and guide-Way 3,l02,333 9/1963 Thornton et al.... ...,.29/257 sembly prevent separation therefrom of the slide,wear 3,334,405 8/1967 Cann et a1. ..29/257 and guide plate sub-assembly. 3,394,389 7/1968 Amir ..29/200 P g 3,452,416 7/1969 Bemey et al ..29/200 J 10 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 2. 1 12? fi ve'l'n rrT m s Eager Attorney-Whittemore, Fiiilbert & Belknap Z ...i {a 2/ 7 1 I t 1 O x 3 E Q I T ;u Z i 2 i g 29 Z2 Z0 2 7 v 5 W L I i 0 /'Zc9 O I I 1 l 4 l i I W 24 J 22 0 n f 2/ O l V 1::4: :-1:' J I (Q .2/ @Pg/ 0 3O 2 PATENTEDMAR elm I 4 ip j INVENTOR. $044410 J. W/QRIZAK I I i l Ihy A TORNEYS UNIVERSAL TOOL FOR HOLDING THE EYES OF LEAF SPRINGS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The tool has typical application as a service device in the jig-type positioning and holding of an eye-shaped end of a conventional leaf spring during a forcing removal of a shackle pin bushing from the eye. However, it is evident that the tool can also be widely used in factories, service shops, etc., in the force-stripping of a pin, bushing or like liner from any centrally bored part which, as in the case of a leaf spring shackle bushing, may require force-removal from the bore, for example, as the result of inter-part corrosion or freezing, or by reason of damage or wear.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART The patents to Erickson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,377,469 of May 10, 1921, Thornton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,102,333 of Sept. 3, 1963 and Cann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,334,405 of Aug. 8, 1967, disclose forcing-type press and like part holders having an end purpose only generally similar to that of the tool herein shown and described. Castagna, U.S. Pat. No. 1,716,718 of June 11, 1929, illustrates a chuck having convergently adjustablework positioning jaws, but not in association with distinct fixed guide and movable plate sub-assemblies, as herein contemplated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION By way of illustration of an intended use, conventional semi-elliptic automotive leaf springs have like end eyes on the longest leaf thereof which are internally press-fit bushed to receive pins coupling the spring to shackle and/or bracket parts of a leaf spring suspension. Corrosion that frequently develops between the spring eye and the bushing, or bushing wear, require removal and replacement of the bushing, and/or re-working of the eye. This is accomplished by subjecting the bushing to press stripping force; and the present tool was devised to facilitate the location of the eye and bushing quickly and accurately in proper alignment with a press or like mandrel for that operation.

The tool is characterized by its universality or adaptability in regard to the size of spring eye which it will accommodate, as well as by its ease of use, both primarily by reason of its length-wise adjustable slide plate and its wedge-type wear and guide plate or block units constituting the movable sub-assembly. An extreme simplicity of all of the component parts of the tool, and an equal simplicity as to the assembly thereof, represent an attractive manufacturing cost factor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the improved tool, show ing .a part of a spring leaf with its terminal eye supported on and positioned between the tools wear and guide plate units; and

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view, partially broken away and in vertical cross section on broken line 2-2 of FIG. 1 this view also showing a press mandrel engaging the bushing end.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The positioning tool of the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as operatively positioning an end eye E of the long leaf of a conventional semi-elliptic spring 8 for the press removal of the usual force-fitted bushing B on the eye. The bushing is conventionally of bronze, alloy bronze or steel, being sometimes rubber-clad in addition; and, as indicated previously, eye-to-bushing interface corrosion calls for forced removal of the bushing and its replacement, as would bushing damage or extensive wear. Such removal is effected by a mandrel M (FIG. 2) of a hydraulic press, or by other means powered or hand-operated and having an adequate tonnage capacity. A reduced end of the mandrel is shown telescoped downwardly within the upper end of the positioned bushing.

The tool 10 is jig-like in character, being composed of a number of very simply shaped plate and block components. These include a fixed base unit or sub-assembly, generally designated 12, which may, if desired, be fixedly mounted to an appropriate supporting table of like supporting surface 13; and a movable work part supporting unit or sub-assembly generally designated 14, which is restrained and slidably guided by the base sub-assembly 12 by means tobe described.

The base structure comprises an elongated rectangular base plate 16 which is shown centrally apertured at 17 to receive the force-removed bushing; and the plate 16 has a pair of like, parallel and elongated guide way members 18 of hardened carbon steel fixedly mounted on its top, the ways 18 paralleling and lying somewhat inside the edges of base plate 16. A pair of like elongated restraining guide members 20, also of hardened carbon steel, are fixedly mounted atop the respective way members 18, being co-extensive in length with the latter and of a width to extend inwardly toward one another beyond the inner edges of ways 18. A series of longitudinally spaced bolts or studs 21 extend through holes in the respective vertically aligned and guide members 18, 20, threaded into base plate 16, thus to secure these parts fixedly together to constitute the fixed base sub-assembly or unit 12.

The base way members 18 are spaced transversely from one another only sufficiently to receive therebetween, with reasonable lateral clearance, a rectangular slide plate 22 of the movable part-locating sub-assembly 14; and the upper parallel guide members 20 of fixed unit 12 laterally inwardly overhang and vertically restrain the edges of the slide plate 22, again with reasonable sliding clearance.

Thus the pairs of guide way and restraining plates 18 and 20 laterally and vertically confine the movable subassembly 14, at its slide plate 22, against vertical separation, guiding the unit 14 with considerable accuracy in its end-wise positioning movement on base plate 16. Plate 22 is centrally apertured at 22, as shown in FIG. 1, to provide a part-clearance opening of generally rectangular outline, tapered at its right-hand end.

The work part, as represented by the bushed eye E of leaf spring S, is vertically supported and laterally registered for the press operation by a pair of like, blocklike plate units 23. These converge at an acute angle toward one another, right-ward as viewed in FIG. 1; and each such unit is constituted by an elongated bottom wear block 24 and an upper, correspondingly elongated side guide and locating block 26, both of hardened cold-rolled steel.

With the blocks 24, 26 superimposed on one another and vertically registered at their outer side edges, it is seen that the width of the wear blocks 24 sufficiently exceeds that of the wedging guide blocks 26 to extend substantially inwardly beyond the latter, and thus afford horizontal wear surfaces at 27 to support the spring eye E. By the same token the upper blocks 26 present convergent upright guide surfaces 28 between which the spring eye is wedgingly located for the press operation. The pairs of blocks 24, 26 are clamped to one another in their angularly convergent relation by sets of bolts or studs 29 extending through the blocks and threading downwardly into the slide plate 22. Solely in the interest of lateral compactness, and as shown in FIG. 1, the blocks of the pairs 23 are identically cropped angularly at 30, where they have sliding clearance relative to the edges of the fixed restraining plates 20 of base sub-assembly 12. Further, in order to prevent separation of the slide sub-assembly 14 from the base structure 12, the latter has an upright stop piece 31 bolted to one end of base plate 16 and another stop part 32 bolted to the top of that plate adjacent its oppositeend.

The manner of use of the tool will certainly be clear from the foregoing description. With the spring leaf eye E supported on the wear block surfaces 27 and with its periphery wedged between the convergent locating surfaces 28, the remainder of the weight of spring S being sustained in any suitable way, the slide unit 12 is moved appropriately lengthwise on plate 16 of fixed unit 12 (previously located in an appropriate general relationship to the press) to register eye bushing B beneath the press mandrel M. The latter is then operated to force-eject the bushing from the leaf eye and down through the slide plate and base plate openings 22' and 17, respectively. Naturally, other types of work part are processed correspondingly.

What is claimed is:

l. A work part positioning tool comprising a work part-supporting unit, and base means supporting and guiding said unit for longitudinal sliding movement, said guided unit having a pair of guide members fixed thereto and upstanding above a surface thereof, said guide members presenting upright side surfaces converging angularly toward one another for a wedged positioning engagement of a work part between said surfaces, and also present engagement of a work part between said surfaces, and also presenting horizontal surfaces extending toward one another inwardly of and beneath said upright surfaces on which the work part is slidably supported in taking wedged engagement between the upright surfaces, the horizontal area between said upright surfaces and above said horizontal surfaces being free of transverse obstruction such as might impede the sliding movement of the work part in so taking its wedging engagement.

2. A tool for positioning a bored work part for an operation directed axially of the parts bore, comprising a base plate having parallel transversely spaced guide and restraining formations on an upper surface thereof, a generally rectangular slide plate guided for longitudinal sliding movement on said base plate as restrained by said formations, and means on said slide plate providing a pair of guide members fixed thereto and upstanding above a surface thereof, said guide members presenting side surfaces converging angularly toward one another for a wedged positioning engagement of a work part between said surfaces.

3. The positioning tool of claim 1, and further comprising means on said base means for vertically and horizontally restraining said guided supporting unit in said sliding movement thereof.

4. The positioning tool of claim 2, in which said guide and restraining formations of the base plate extend parallel to and overhang opposite sides of said slide plate.

5. The positioning tool of claim 1, in which said guide members of the guided unit each provide a wear surface only partially underlying the work part as thus positioned between said convergent surfaces.

6. The positioning tool of claim 2, in which said guide members of the slide plate provide wear surface underlying the work part as thus positioned between said convergent surfaces.

7. The positioning tool of claim 3, in which said guide members of the guided plate provide wear surface underlying the work part as thus positioned between said convergent surfaces.

8. The positioning tool of claim 4, in which said guide members of the slide plate provide wear surface underlying the work part as thus positioned between said convergent surfaces.

9. Thepositioning tool of claim 2, and further comprising end stop means on said base plate to prevent longitudinal end-wise separation of the slide plate from the base plate.

10. The positioning tool of claim 8, and further com prising end stop means on said base plate to prevent longitudinal end-wise separation of the slide plate from the base plate.

UNETED STATES PATENT @ETECE @ERTEFKQAEE @F @QEREEQ'HUN Pat n N 3,718,964 Dated March 6, 1973 Inventor(s) RONALD J. WAREZAK It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:'

Column 3, Claim 1, line 48, cancel "and also present engagement of a work part between said surfaces,",

Signed and sealed this 10th day of July 1973.

(SEAL) .Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR.

Rene Tegtmeyer V Attesting Officer Acting Commissioner of Patent FORM po'wso (10459) USCOMM-DC scam-Peg 9 UlS. GOVERNMENT PRNTING C'FFICE I 959 O-3G6-334 

1. A work part positioning tool comprising a work part-supporting unit, and base means supporting and guiding said unit for longitudinal sliding movement, said guided unit having a pair of guide members fixed thereto and upstanding above a surface thereof, said guide members presenting upright side surfaces converging angularly toward one another for a wedged positioning engagement of a work part between said surfaces, and also present engagement of a work part between said surfaces, and also presenting horizontal surfaces extending toward one another inwardly of and beneath said upright surfaces on which the work part is slidably supported in taking wedged engagement between the upright surfaces, the horizontal area between said upright surfaces and above said horizontal surfaces being free of transverse obstruction such as might impede the sliding movement of the work part in so taking its wedging engagement.
 1. A work part positioning tool comprising a work partsupporting unit, and base means supporting and guiding said unit for longitudinal sliding movement, said guided unit having a pair of guide members fixed thereto and upstanding above a surface thereof, said guide members presenting upright side surfaces converging angularly toward one another for a wedged positioning engagement of a work part between said surfaces, and also present engagement of a work part between said surfaces, and also presenting horizontal surfaces extending toward one another inwardly of and beneath said upright surfaces on which the work part is slidably supported in taking wedged engagement between the upright surfaces, the horizontal area between said upright surfaces and above said horizontal surfaces being free of transverse obstruction such as might impede the sliding movement of the work part in so taking its wedging engagement.
 2. A tool for positioning a bored work part for an operation directed axially of the part''s bore, comprising a base plate having parallel transversely spaced guide and restraining formations on an upper surface thereof, a generally rectangular slide plate guided for longitudinal sliding movement on said base plate as restrained by said formations, and means on said slide plate providing a pair of guide members fixed thereto and upstanding above a surface thereof, said guide members presenting side surfaces converging angularly toward one another for a wedged positioning engagement of a work part between said surfaces.
 3. The positioning tool of claim 1, and further comprising means on said base means for vertically and horizontally restraining said guided supporting unit in said sliding movement thereof.
 4. The positioning tool of claim 2, in which said guide and restraining formations of the base plaTe extend parallel to and overhang opposite sides of said slide plate.
 5. The positioning tool of claim 1, in which said guide members of the guided unit each provide a wear surface only partially underlying the work part as thus positioned between said convergent surfaces.
 6. The positioning tool of claim 2, in which said guide members of the slide plate provide wear surface underlying the work part as thus positioned between said convergent surfaces.
 7. The positioning tool of claim 3, in which said guide members of the guided plate provide wear surface underlying the work part as thus positioned between said convergent surfaces.
 8. The positioning tool of claim 4, in which said guide members of the slide plate provide wear surface underlying the work part as thus positioned between said convergent surfaces.
 9. The positioning tool of claim 2, and further comprising end stop means on said base plate to prevent longitudinal end-wise separation of the slide plate from the base plate. 